


I Really Want to Try Writing Alec as Spanish but I Need Help

by CaptainIronAvenger1996



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec is from Spain in this, And I really don't want to screw this up and offend anyone because I didn't understand something, But I know nothing of Spain or Spanish culture, This is my first time writing another culture and I need help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 11:59:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13294410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainIronAvenger1996/pseuds/CaptainIronAvenger1996
Summary: I love the idea of the Lightwoods coming from Spain (don't know why I just really love it) and I'd love to write something with it but I have no idea about how to do it in a proper way and I'd love some help from anyone who can offer some tips and advice!





	I Really Want to Try Writing Alec as Spanish but I Need Help

It's obvious I have no idea how to write characters from different cultures, at all. But I want to try to branch out and I thought it would be cool to look into the background from the Shadowhunters TV series where we see a little bit of a Spanish background for the Lightwoods (Yes I know in the books they're white but I love the TV series and I find the books to be horribly lacking so I tend to just ignore those but that's my opinion). 

In this fic Alec is from Spain and moves to New York, he's a chef. I looked into classic Spanish dishes and saw how they were prepared but I only looked at recipes after I read the comments. I still would like to double check with someone that they're accurate before I ever attempt to try and write those out. I looked at multiple recipes for Paella Valenciana (I hope that's the right one but it's the one that I found the most of) and Prawns with garlic, those sorts of dishes. 

Plus I'd love to write about his accent and I can't find anything that really helps me understand how to describe a Spanish accent. I just started learning Spanish so my grasp of the language is...I think basic would be too generous a term at this point but I want to try and not make myself look like an idiot by translating everything like I'd be tempted to. I know people will say not to do it because I obviously don't have a good grasp yet but that's why I'm asking for help. 

I've looked into articles and read about Spain and such, but reading things like a tourist doesn't give you the same information that someone who grew up in the area and culture can give you. I don't want to make this fic sound like it was written by a tourist, like Alec is just kinda half-assed written because I didn't get all the information I need. Hell, when I first started this I thought Alec would count as Latino! Yes, I looked into it and thankfully realized the MAJOR error there, I'm so sorry by the way, but it's things like that that I would like to avoid in the future. 

Any comments would be amazing at this point, any tips you'd be willing to give. It'd be awesome to have a beta or just someone to bounce ideas off if possible (I don't really use Tumblr anymore and that's my only social media so it would be by email or so). 

Please help! I'd love to learn and to make this fic come true in an accurate way.


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